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KEY FINDINGS:

The Eldan conducted some of their most dangerous experiments not on the surface of Nexus but at hidden facilities on the Farside of moon Halon. Largely intact Eldan bio-domes still contain the results of ancient life experiments - many still alive and deadly.

Eldan terraformers on Farside were operational for centuries resulting in completely incompatible biomes colliding. Mutant forms of creatures from the surface of Nexus can also be found on Farside, along with more bizarre life forms more suited to vacuum.

An infestation of squirg in the region has mutated due to prolonged exposure to primal energy and grown increasingly aggressive.

CONCLUSIONS:

Eldan terraforming technology was legendary in the greater galaxy once, and tales of their power to shape and manipulate entire worlds were widespread even in the days of the Cassian Commonwealth. And while such technology has been found on the surface of Nexus, the terraformers on Halon's Farside are in another class entirely.

Evidence indicates far more happened on Farside than terraformers left unattended, however. A natural disaster elsewhere on the moon appears to have nearly destroyed Halon in the recent geological past, and for now we can find no evidence the terraformers had any direct involvement. Farside's terraformers and bio-domes show typical signs of abandonment now familiar from earlier investigations - not outright destruction - indicating the disaster could have been natural. Although with the Eldan, that rarely seems to be the case.

This has led to a new guiding hypothesis for this research: there may have been no singular cause for the Eldan's disappearance at all. It may have been a confluence of events with unexpected results that took even the ancients off guard. An asteroid could have struck Farside at just the moment the Eldan were busy fighting Megadroids. Mutated life forms could have found homes within abandoned technology, leading to an outbreak of a mind-control parasite population. Rampant augmentation could have infested an as-yet-undiscovered Focus or Primeval. Some propose the Eldan may have truly ascended to godhood - and the Dominion is actually right.

One thing we do know: all evidence thus far has the XAS convinced the Eldan were not expecting to vanish. Their continued absence from galactic affairs more than a thousand years on seems to indicate the worst possible fate.

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ADDITIONAL

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Breathing apparatuses are required for survival over large stretches of the Farside surface. Dr. Lazarin has volunteered to provide helmets for Mordesh Exiles that socket into their existing biotech components. It's rumored the doctor liberated them from a Grismaran ship he found adrift during the evacuation of his homeworld. The crew, all Ravenous, no longer needed them.